Fergie's Tech Blog

Wi-Fi network closes in Finland

Tony Dennis writes in The Inquirer:

WITH OVER 150 base stations, the largest Wi-Fi network over in Finland, Wivanet, is to close by Q1 2006. Vantaa Energy has decided to stop maintaining the network.

Its service has been available in the city of Vantaa, parts of Northern Helsinki and a few prestigious shopping centres. The network started operations back in September 2003.

The reason for the decision to cease operations given by the CEO of Vantaa Energy, Pertti Laukkanen, is that "Broadband prices have dropped by 50 per cent in a few years. [They've] dropped so much that Wivanet can never be a profitable business for Vantaa Energy. And mobile broadband is not our core business unlike the energy business."

Customers have been offered the chance to transfer from Wi-Fi over to Elisa's ADSL network. Elisa previously acquired Vantaa's ISP business. Vantaa is willing to sell the network whole or in pieces but the city of Vantaa doesn't want to maintain a public network. Nor does Elisa want to acquire the Wi-Fi network.

posted by Fergie @ 9/25/2005 10:24:00 AM